Page 23 of Lilly

"When are you getting it?"

"Not for a few months."

"Why'd you have to order it? There are plenty of Mercedes' dealerships around here. Couldn't you just go buy one?"

"This one is different. It has special features. I don't mind waiting. It's not that long. It'll probably be here in August."

Reed looks at me and I shrug, then whisper to him, "Maybe your dad caught whatever my family has. They're all acting weird."

"I know, right?" he whispers. "So it's not just me. You think he's acting strange?"

I just nod, not wanting his dad to hear us.

"So Lilly, does your father like his Mercedes?" Dean asks.

"I think so. Then again, it's all he's ever had so he doesn't really have anything to compare it to."

"What does your mother drive?"

"A BMW. Just like me, except hers is bigger."

"I would've guessed Mercedes," he says as he stops at the light. "Your mother seems more like a Mercedes type person to me."

"Really? I guess I never thought about it."

"She's so elegant and refined. Always dressed in designer clothes. Wearing expensive jewelry. A Mercedes just seems to fit her more."

What's he talking about? That's not Rachel at all. She always dresses casual, in jeans and t-shirts. She only dresses up when she's going to a big event, like one of her fundraisers.

"Wait, do you mean my real mom? Or Rachel?"

"Katherine. Your mother."

"Oh. Yeah. Actually she does drive a Mercedes. I thought you were talking about Rachel."

Why would Dean bring up my mom? He's never met her and I'm sure Reed hasn't told him much about her. I'm curious so I decide to ask.

"So um...how do you know so much about my mom?"

He pauses before answering. "I only know what I've seen on TV or in the papers. I get the New York Times and occasionally your mother is in the society news."

"You read the society news?" Reed asks.

"Of course," Dean says. "It's part of my job to keep up on who's making the papers and why. In my industry, you have to know who's being talked about. What's hot. What's trending."

"Yeah, in L.A., but why do you care about New York?"

"You have to know what's going on on both coasts. What's hot in New York may soon be hot in L.A. and vice versa."

"Was my mom in the paper recently?" I ask.

"I believe she was," he says, clearing his throat.

He believes she was? That's an odd thing to say. She either was or she wasn't.

"What did they say about her?"

"That she uh...let me think. I can't remember now. I think she attended some kind of event for the opera." He races up behind the car in front of us, then hits the brakes. "Yes, that was it. The opera."

---